Astros seek World Series repeat, Yankees seek revenge

Chris Sale eager to amend for 2017 postseason clunker

Boston's Xander Bogaerts tags out New York's Luke Voit during the second inning of a Sept. 28 game at Fenway Park in Boston. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

BOSTON — Chris Sale waited eight years to make his first postseason start and then another 365 days for a chance to put that memory behind him.

The Red Sox left-hander will start Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees on Friday night, one year after he was bombarded by the championship-bound Houston Astros in his playoff debut.

He's thought about it. He's learned from it.

And he wants to make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes again.

"Last year, obviously, I got my feet wet. Didn't do too well. But sometimes you learn from the bad more than the good," Sale said Thursday, a day before the longtime AL East rivals open their best-of-five series.

Houston's Tony Kemp, in orange, dumps water on Jake Marisnick, left, and Jose Altuve Astros defeated the Orioles during Game Two of a doubleheader on Sept. 29 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

"It happened. I'm not going to run away from it. I don't think that's the right thing to do," he said. "I'm not going to hide from it. You can Google it now, tomorrow and 100 years, and it's going to be there. I own it. I accept it. And like I said, I'm going to be better. I'm going to go do everything I can to be better. That's all I can do."

A seven-time All-Star who was the ace of the White Sox staff before coming to the Red Sox in 2017, Sale had never pitched for a playoff team before starting the opener of Boston's series against Houston. He gave up seven runs in five innings; he pitched well in an emergency relief appearance in Game 4 but couldn't keep the Astros from advancing.

On Friday night, Sale will face Yankees lefty J.A. Happ.

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Sale is still recovering from left shoulder inflammation that landed him on the disabled list twice in the second half of the season and limited him to 12 innings from July 11 until Sept. 11. He made four starts down the stretch as he tried to build up arm strength, but in his previous outing last Wednesday his fastball was the slowest he's had all year.

Sale adjusted his preparation because of rain Tuesday, pushing back some of his work to Wednesday so he could pitch off a regular mound instead of in the batting cage. Manager Alex Cora said Sale is "a full go," and the problems with his velocity were related to his mechanics and not his health or arm strength.

Either way, Sale insisted, "if I take the mound, I expect to win."

"Sometimes you go out there and you have your best, sometimes you don't," he said. "You have to find a way with whatever you have on any given day, and roll with it."

This postseason may be best remembered for its bullpen openers. Just not in the AL Division Series between the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians.

Relief pitchers are covering entire games for other championship contenders this October, but the Astros and Indians are ready to roll old school, starting with Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber facing off in Game 1 on Friday.

"I love starters," Astros manager AJ Hinch said Thursday. "Why? Because I've got good ones. I think that's the easiest way to fall in love with a rotation and have that mindset, do I want my starters to go deep in the game? Yeah, they're good."

Cleveland knows the feeling. This series will feature some of the best pitchers in the American League, with Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco opposing two-time All-Star right-hander Gerrit Cole in the second game Saturday, and Mike Clevinger of the Indians and 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel pitching in Monday's Game 3.

Verlander, a 14-year veteran, believes the AL West champion Astros and AL Central champion Indians have the top two rotations in the AL. He thinks the performance of each team's starters will be paramount to success in this series.

"Us and the Indians probably being 1 and 2, however you like to slice it, us and them, them and us," he said. "Pick your poison. We both have very defined starters who have a great track record and have good stuff. This should be a really fun series."

Kluber pitched well in the postseason in 2016 when the Indians fell to the Cubs in the World Series. But he struggled in the ALDS last year against the New York Yankees while dealing with an aching back. He's feeling healthier this time around and expecting a stronger performance.

"Whether a game I pitch or a month I have or a year I have is good or bad, the way I look at it is I'm looking forward to the next one ... not dwelling on previous outings or games, whether they're good or bad," he said.

Both the Astros and the Indians used one of their final roster spots on players who are valuable for their speed. Houston picked rookie Myles Straw over carrying a third catcher and the Indians went with Rajai Davis over backup shortstop Erik Gonzalez.

Straw has been used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner since being called up on Sept. 15, and Hinch raved about what a player like him can do for a team in the postseason.

"Straw can be a huge impact on the bases. ... He is so fast he forced the third catcher off the roster," Hinch said. "And that gives us a lot of weapons."

Davis was big for the Indians during their 2016 playoff run, hitting a tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series that Cleveland lost to the Cubs in 10 innings. The speedy Davis has proven to still be a threat on the bases this season and has 21 steals despite approaching his 38th birthday.

Donaldson said the speed of Davis could really help Cleveland this postseason.

"In the playoffs, I think what you look for is being able to score in a multitude of different ways: One, the home run ball; B is small ball; and then, three, just pure speed," he said. "And that's what he brings."

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